Meanings
nounbarnacle goose (plural barnacle geese)
plural barnacle geese
- A black and white species of bird within the family Anatidae from the northern hemisphere, Branta leucopsis.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounEuropean goose smaller than the brant; breeds in the far north
Similar
barnacleBranta leucopsis
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Because this goose nests in the far north, Europeans never saw its chicks, and invented a theory that the goose barnacle is the larval form of the barnacle goose.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan oca de galta blanca
- oca de galta blancaBranta leucopsis
Czech berneška
- berneškaBranta leucopsis
Danish bramgås
- bramgåsBranta leucopsis
Dutch brandgans
- brandgansBranta leucopsis
Estonian valgepõsk-lagle
- valgepõsk-lagleBranta leucopsis
Finnish valkoposkihanhi
- valkoposkihanhiBranta leucopsis
French bernache nonnette
- bernache nonnetteBranta leucopsis
German Weißwangengans, Weisswangengans
- WeißwangengansBranta leucopsis
- WeisswangengansBranta leucopsis
- NonnengansBranta leucopsis
Greek αγριόχηνα
- αγριόχηνα (agrióchina)Branta leucopsis
Hungarian apácalúd
- apácalúdBranta leucopsis
Icelandic helsingi
- helsingiBranta leucopsis
Irish gé ghiúrainn, cadhan
- gé ghiúrainnBranta leucopsis
- cadhanBranta leucopsis
Japanese 顔白雁
- 顔白雁 (kaojiro gan)Branta leucopsis
Norwegian Bokmål hvitkinngås
- hvitkinngåsBranta leucopsis
Polish bernikla białolica
- bernikla białolicaBranta leucopsis
Portuguese ganso-de-faces-brancas, bernaca
- ganso-de-faces-brancasBranta leucopsis
- bernacaBranta leucopsis
- barnacleBranta leucopsis
Romanian gâscă cu obraz alb, gâscă călugăriță
- gâscă cu obraz albBranta leucopsis
- gâscă călugărițăBranta leucopsis
Russian каза́рка белощёкая
- каза́рка белощёкая (kazárka beloščókaja)Branta leucopsis
Scottish Gaelic cathan, diùraide
- cathanBranta leucopsis
- diùraideBranta leucopsis
Spanish barnacla cariblanca, barnacla
- barnacla cariblancaBranta leucopsis
- barnaclaBranta leucopsis
Swedish vitkindad gås
- vitkindad gåsBranta leucopsis
Turkish akbaş, deniz kazı
- akbaşBranta leucopsis
- deniz kazıBranta leucopsis
- ak yanaklı kazBranta leucopsis
Welsh gŵydd wyran
- gŵydd wyranBranta leucopsis
Cite this entry
APA
barnacle goose. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barnacle%20goose
MLA
“barnacle goose.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barnacle%20goose. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “barnacle goose,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barnacle%20goose.
Source: barnacle goose on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.